The invention concerns a device for supporting and oscillating a continuous casting mold for the continuous casting of molten metals, especially molten steels, with guide elements symmetrically arranged on both sides of the central longitudinal axis of the cast strand, stationary support members, and a continuous casting mold supported on paired oscillation devices, and a method for dismounting, mounting, and maintaining the assemblies of the device.
Continuous casting molds with cooled sidewalls that bound the mold cavity, which are surrounded by a structure that supports the sidewalls, are supported either on a mold frame or on separate, laterally arranged mounts. The mounts in turn are supported on a support construction with an oscillation device. In individual cases, the mount, the support structure, and the oscillation device form an assembly.
The mounting or dismounting of these assemblies reveals the disadvantage that all of the parts must be dismounted in each case, even though only one of these parts or assemblies is defective or in need of maintenance.
The document JP 073 28 748 A describes, for example, a mold that is supported by two lateral cantilevers on respective oscillation cylinders and guided on guide rails by lateral rollers. Molds, oscillation cylinders, and guide device are installed on a common plate, which can be dismounted.
The document DE 1 433 048 discloses a mold oscillator for molds with two mold frames installed on either side of the mold to be supported, which have mold supports and mold bearing surfaces and a common synchronized oscillation drive for the mold supports.
The document CH 377 053 A describes a mold with a mold cavity and a cooled support structure that supports the mold plates. The support structure and the mold it supports are supported on two laterally installed oscillation cylinders. At the same time, the oscillation cylinders are the supports of the mold and guide devices which act in the oscillation directions. The oscillation direction is centrally aligned with the support of the mold support structure. The oscillation cylinders are mounted on a stationary support structure. During the detachment of the support structure with the mold from the supports, the given support of the oscillation cylinder can be dismounted from or mounted on the foundation with the cylinder as a guide and the stationary support structure as an assembly.
The document DE 102 44 596 A1 discloses an installation for the continuous casting of metals, especially steels, into elongated products in a multistrand casting plant with several continuous casting molds. Each of the continuous casting molds is supported separately in an oscillating frame, which is driven to oscillate in the casting direction and is supported, for guidance and weight compensation, on a base frame by pairs of leaf springs arranged on both sides of the cast strand, which leaf springs extend transversely to the casting direction. In this regard, two housings in the form of compact flat cassettes, which are arranged one after the other in the direction of strand travel, are secured on an elongated base frame. Upper and lower pairs of leaf springs extend transversely to the cast strand in these housings. Oscillation drives act on the pairs of leaf springs, with a front oscillation drive operating synchronously with the rear oscillation drive.